Rotary engine, water-meter, or pump.



No. 699,539. Ptented Apr. 29, |992.

T. c. mamma.

ROTARY ENGINE, WATER METER, UR PUMP.

(Applieation med may 2s, 19in.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

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WMWWHMMMM afina/mai x 1 v e n' l'o z lll// No. 698,539. Y Y Patenten Ap'r. 29,1902.

T. c. memos. ROTARY ENGINE, WATER-METER, (IH` PUMP.

UNITED STATES" PATENT' FFIC.

THOMAS C. MCBRIDE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

ROTARY ENGINE, WATER-METER, on PUMP.-

srncrrroncrron refining part of Letters Patent No. 698,539, dated Aru 29, 1902.

Application iiled May 28, 1901.

.To all whom, t 1v1/ty concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS C. MCBRIDE, a citizen of the United States, residing in"the city and county of Philadelphia,State of Penn- Sylvania, have invented'a new and useful Improvement in RotaryEngines,`Water-Meters, or Pumps, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists of a novel construction of a rotary engine, water-meter, or pump, consisting of two preferably parallel shafts mounted in a suitable casing,one of said shafts having on it a rotating piston with a vane or vanes, while the other of said shafts has a rotating abutment-piston provided with a gap or gaps, into which the vane or vanes of the rotating piston are adapted to mesh at the proper intervals. Beside this unit are placed other similar units delivering in series into and through each other, my invention being especially designed as an improvement upon rotary'engines of that general type wherein a pair of i shafts are provided with screwthreads which interm'esh,and myinvention bei ing designed to obviate the disadvantageous features of pumpsof this character which require a verycareful design of screw-threads and a veryA accurate-adjustinentof` the pairs of screws and threadsi not only as toangularity, butalso as to the distance between the oppositely-located 4screw-threads.

It further consists of novel details of construction, all as will be hereinafter set forth, and particularly pointed out'in the claims.

Figure l represents a horizontal section taken on line w Fig. 2, of a rotary engine or pump embodying my invention. Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, and Gprepresent vertical transverse sections taken, respectively, on lines ww, .fr y y, z a, a' a' of Fig.`l. Fig.`7 represents a transverse section takenonline 22.52, Fig. 8,

illustrating another embodiment of my in` vention. Fig. 8 represents a side elevation of one of the members seen in Fig. 7. Fig. 9 represents a. transverse section taken on line z3 a3 of Fig-l0 of. another. modification embodying myinvention. Fig. lO represents an elevation thereof, partially in section.

Similar letters of reference indicate corre- Fig. 2, will be prevented by vane T, Fig. 4, and itvwill be noted that in this position of sponding parts in the figures.

Referring to the drawings that the operation may bev more easily understood, we will consider the invention working as a pump.

It will be evident, however, that by admitting steam to whatwill be described as the delivery-opening the machine will run in the opposite direction as a rotary engine.

A designates the i frame or bed of my im-l proved constructiou of rotary engine or pump, upon which the casing or cylinder Bis mounted, the latter having the heads C, which are provided with suitable bearings and stufngboxes for the shafts D, the latter being prolonged at one end of the casing and geared together, so as to rotate in unison, and one of said shafts being provided with a suitable coupling or pulley E for the application of power thereto.

F designates a suction-opening which is located, preferably, at the lower portion of one or both sides ofthe cylinder B and communicates with the channel or passage G at that lower portion of said cylinder, said channel extending lengthwise ,thereof and communi-n cating withnthe pistonfchambersI-I and .l by means of the ports K, locatedat the ends of the cylinder. It will thus be'understo'od that water 'being drawn into the passagelG will flow upwardly through the ports K and thence from each end of the" casing Bthrough the different pumping units, as described, toward opening K2 thereof will be substantially the same it will only be necessary to describe onehalf of the apparatus-as, for example, the

upper half. (Seen in Fig. l.)

To understand the operation of my invention,consideriirstthecentralunit. (Shownin cross-section in Fig. 2.) It is evident that if the pistons are rotating in the direction shown `by the arrows the vane A will be andwill the pistons the vanes A', Fig. 2, and T, Fig.

IOO

the vane WV, Fig. 3, moving in the direction of the arrows is delivering water through the open space in front of it into the opening Z, which is part of the delivery-opening space K2, Fig. 2, and is also being assisted by vane Q, Fig. 5, which is pushing the same column of water through the gap U of abutment V, Fig. 4,into the space behind vane W, Fig. 8. Thus any number of units, limited only by the practical length of the machine, may be used to reinforce each other.

It will be apparent to those skilled in this art that there is a time in the rotation of each piston, when its vane has meshed with the gap of its abutment, when, unless the vane and the gap have both been carefullydesigned and made of a particular form, so that they will m'esh accurately, there will be vmore or less clear passage past the vane, at which time this unit of the pump will cease pumping and if not assisted by other units allow the water to pass backward through it. It is to overcome this difficulty that I have placed, as above explained, beside the single central unit hereinabove described, other units either placed only on one side or divided and placed on both sides of said first-mentioned unit so as to balance any end thrust on the shafts, and have so located the vanes angularly around the shaft that the period described above Where the pumping would cease will not happen at the same instant that pumping would have ceased in the other units. This combination is equivalent to a number of rotary pumps placed side by side and acting in series and results in the production of an apparatus delivering water at a uniform rate, it being also apparent that where it is desired to pump against higher pressure it is advisable to increase the number of units, so that slippage due to leakage between the parts will be decreased. It will thus be seen that while I have started with an assumption of the use of a singlevane piston and single-gap abutmentand have placed beside these .parts practically identical units, but at a receding angle on the shaft, and have for convenience of construction placed on each shaft a piston with its vane adjacent to an abutment with its gap it will'be apparent that the use of a number of these units thus combined approaches the idea of a screw-pu mp, being analogous to this principle in that the water passes along the cylinder parallel to the shafts without any circular motion in the direction of the circumference of the cylinder. It will, however, be seen that my invention is an improvement over-this class of screw pumps or engines havingintermeshing threads, since pumps of this type require a Very carefull design of screwthreads and a very accurate adjustment of the pairs of screws and gears, not only as to angularity, but also as to the distance of oppositely-fastened screw-threads on each shaft, whereas in my invention a very considerable angular error in adjustment may be allowed in the gears without any trouble resulting from the two halves of the pump grinding on each other and Wearing, since the vane ou each unit need not fit accurately the gap into which it meshes, for the reason that the other units will pump the waterthrough these units when they,through notbeingaccuratelyfitted, cease for a time to pump.

It will be seen from the foregoing that I have produced a novel form of stepped screw for screw-pumps, said screw being made by finishing-disks on a shaft, said disks having the gaps already cast therein and the space between said disks being closed off at the appropriate places by the vanes, so that each shaft eventually has the appearance of a stepped screw. It will thus be seen that each shaft is provided with a plurality of halfunits and that when these shafts and their half-units are assembled each juxtaposed pair or set of half-units makes a complete pumping unit, the construction of which has already been fully described.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that my invention can be Very cheaply manufactured, since the gaps in the abutments of the two groups of units on each shaft may be cast roughly in the metal, whereupon `grooves can then be turned and the vanes afterward fastened in place by the screws E'. The vanes then require care in finishing only on the extreme end, wherein contact with the inside of the casing.

In the construction shown in Figs. 7 to 10, inclusive, I have shown slightlydifferent means for forming and securing the vanes in position, one form of vane being represented in Figs. '7 and S by F and having a tongue G', adapted to be secured in a suitablegroove H', said vane being adapted to coact with the juxtaposed gap J.

In Figs. 9 and l0 I have shown the vane K as provided with different means for secu ring it in position, said means consisting of the threaded stem L which is adapted to be secured into a threaded seat in the body M', as is evident, said vane K beingv adapted to coact with thejuxtaposed gap N.

Although I have shown the shafts D as made integral with the main body of the group of half 'pumping units on it, it will be apparent that said body may be made separate andsecured on said shaft by the various usual mechanical means.

It Will be apparent that slight changes may be -made by those skilled in the art which will come within the scope of my invent-ion, and I do not, therefore, desire to be limited in every instance to the exact construction I have herein shown and described.

At the left of Fig.- 1 are shown disk-plates on the shaft D at the lends of the left-hand pumping units, between which plates the IOC IIO

units on the said shaft are retained and which,

furthermore, serve as guides for the end units tons, each provided with a single vane and one or more abutment-pistons,- each provided with a. single gap, the vanes and gaps of saidA different units being so located that the vanes on one shaft shall be opposite the gaps on the other shaft so that said units will not cease pumping at the sameinstant.

2. In a rotaryengine, meter or pump, the

combination of acasing having a suction-open.

ing in its lower portion, a channel extending longitudinally in the lower portion of said casing, piston-chambers located above said channel, ports extending upwardly from the ends of said channel to said chambers, a plurality of shafts passing through said piston-chambers, and a pluralityof units mounted on said shafts between said ports, each ofw said` units consistingcf a rotary piston provided with a vane and an abutment-piston having a gap, and each of the half-units being placed in longitudinal juxtapositiom but at alvarying angle on their shafts and the pistons on oneshaft being arranged opposite the gaps` upon the other, shaft and in suchrelative po-` sition that the vanes shall mesh with the gaps` on the opposing members as the shafts rotate, whereby each pair of opposing members constitutes a pumping unit, whereby said units will not be at the inoperative point at the same instant.

3. In a rotary engine, meter or pump, the

combination of a casin ghavin g a suction-open-` ing in its lower portion, a channel extending longitudinally in thelower portion of said casing, ports extending upwardly from the ends of said channel, piston-chambers located above the lower channel, a plurality of shafts passing through said piston-chambers, a discharge-outlet for said casing, and a plurality of half-units mounted on each of Said shafts, each of saidunits consisting-of a rotary piston with a vane, anda rotary abutment-pistonwith a gap, each of said half-unitsbeing placed in longitudinal juxtaposition but at a receding angle oneach shaft and the pistons, on one shaft arranged opposite the gapsof the members on the other shaft andlin such relative position that the vanes shall mesh with the gaps on the` opposing members as the shafts rotate, whereby eachi pair Oof opposingmembers constitutes a'pumping unit,

whereby watenis forced from saidports to.

ward said discharge-opening and the vanes andgaps of the different unitswill not cease,

pumping at the samerinstant,wherebythe water instead of passing to the next unit at a slight angles carried substantially onehalf way around the shaft before meeting the preceding vane.

4. In a rotary engine, meter or pump, a casing or cylinder, a plurality of shafts rotatably mounted therein, a plurality of independent unitsmounted on said shafts, `each of said units consisting of a rotary piston having a single vane detachably connected thereto and an abutment-piston provided with a single gap, said vanes and gaps being so located with respect to each other with the pistons on one shaft arranged opposite the gaps of the opposing members on the other shaft and in such relative positions that the vanes shall mesh with the gaps on the opposing members as the shafts rotate whereby each pair of opposing members constitutes a pumping unit, so that theywill not be at the inoperative point at the same instant.

5. In a rotaryengine, meter or pump, acylinder, a plurality of shafts rotatably mounted therein,each of said shafts being provided with pumping units having abutmentswith gaps cast roughly thereinthe o uterL peripheries of said abutments and thespaces alternating between said abutments being finished and vanes detachably secured `in position on the finished portions between said abutments,

the pistonson one shaft being arranged opposite the gaps of the members on the other shaft in such relative positions that the vanes IOO plurality of shafts having pumping units thereon, said yunits consisting of l abutments,-

havinggaps cast therein, the outerperipheries ofsaid abutments beingturned or nished and the alternating spaces between said abutments being also finished, the spaces beg-i tween said. abutmentsbeing provided with vanes detachably secured thereto, said vanes IIO and gaps being arranged so thateacnh gap,

when not inimesh with thecorresponding vanewill serve as a passage throughwhich` the next preceding pumpingunit v.in the se,- ries shall deliver and adapted to coact,iwl1ereby the pumping action of each group of units.

will not cease at the same instant.

7 In a rotary enginemeter or pump, a cylinder or casing, a plurality of shafts rotatably mounted therein, and aiplurality of pumping members on each of said shafts,consisting of rotary pistons, and disks on each shaft alter-,n

nately between the pistons,l said pistons and disks being provided respectively with a vane and a gappermitting each vane to carry the waterfthroughthe gap substantially one-half way around the shaft beforemeeting the next adj acentA vane.

8. In a rotary en gine, meter or pump,a cylinder or casing, a plu ralityof shafts rotatably mounted therein, and a plurality of` pumping between the pistons, said pistons and disks being provided respectively with a vane and a gap permitting each vane to carry the Water through the gap substantially one-half Way around the shaft before meeting the next adjacent vane, said Vanes being disposed in series in screw-like form whereby leakage past one vane is prevented by the next succeeding vane.

9. In a rotary engine, &c., the combination with a casing, of a plurality of shafts rotatably mounted therein, a series of alternating` vaned pistons and disks provided each with a gap upon each shaft, the pistons on one shaft being arranged opposite the disks upon the other shaft and in such relative position that the the last pumping unit, the gap in each disk serving, when not in mesh with the correspending vane, as a passage through which the next preceding pumping unit in the series shall deliver.

THOMAS O. MoBRlDE.

Witnesses:

JOHN A. WIEDERSHEIM, E. HAYWARD FAIRBANKSi 

